Logos from sportslogos.net
Louisiana welcomed their second straight in-state opponent for a midweek contest in Northwestern State. Crooked numbers in the second, third, fourth, sixth, and eighth innings pushed the Cajuns past the Demons for a 15-3 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Louisiana started the game with Jackson Nezuh getting five strikeouts in the first two innings of work before Connor Higgs and Carson Roccaforte both had doubles to give the Cajuns an early lead. Will Veillon continued the double party with an RBI double of his own to score Roccaforte.
Then, Max Marusak ripped an RBI single to score another run for Louisiana. After that, the third baseman stole second and third to make him a perfect 16-16 on the season, but the Cajuns couldn’t get the fourth run home in the inning.
In the third, Heath Hood started things with a triple before Higgs launched a ground-rule double that scored Hood. The next batter was Julian Brock, who brought Higgs in with an RBI single to push it to 5-0.
Northwestern got on the board in the fourth when they got three straight hits, their first ones of the contest, to score Jake Haze and make it 5-1. For the Cajuns in the fourth, four stolen bases and two bunt singles gave Louisiana a run and runners on second and third before Kyle DeBarge got them both home on a shot into the gap to extend the lead to 8-1.
Louisiana added to the scoring in the fifth with Carson Roccaforte ripping a single and advancing to third before Will Veillon singled him in for a 9-1 lead. This was the fifth game for the Cajuns where they had 14+ base hits.
In the sixth, Louisiana started with back-to-back walks before a throwing error on a sacrifice loaded the bases for Connor Higgs. Then, Dawson Flowers walked his third batter of the inning to bring in a run and make it 10-1. After a pitching change, the Demons walked in another run to make it 11-1. John Taylor hit a sacrifice fly to left center later in the inning to score Hood and push the lead to 12-1.
Jeffrey Elkins returned to Lafayette and launched a solo shot into the trees in left field to give Northwestern another run and make it a 12-2 game. In the bottom of the seventh, Louisiana got the run back on an RBI single from DeBarge to make it 13-2.
Northwestern wouldn’t go away however, with a RBI single in the eighth when Hayden Knotts brought in Michael Dattalo to make it 13-3 in favor of the Ragin Cajuns. In the bottom half, Louisiana loaded the bases and brought in a pair of runs on a RBI single from Mason Zambo to make it 15-3 late.
Ben Tate came in for the ninth inning and shut the door on the Demons in a 15-3 win.
BIG NUMBER: 16
Louisiana mustered 16 base hits in the contest that led to 15 runs and their second straight win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle DeBarge
“Debo” went 3-4 on the night with three base hits and three runs batted in. The sophomore shortstop also made incredible defensive plays in the game.
UP NEXT: Louisiana will welcome #6 Coastal Carolina to Russo Park for a three-game series with the Chanticleers. First pitch Friday is set for 6:00 pm.